The Summer Before College
by shenandoahok
Summary: Dixon talks with Teddy, and then goes on a date with Hannah, the girl he helped on the prom committee.
1. Chapter 1

Dixon

(Dixon Decides To Date Hannah)

Dixon sat on the edge of the pier looking out over the ocean with his surfboard in his right hand. He unzipped the top portion of his body suit, and then whispered with a smirk, "Can't believe I'll be in college next year."

It was a little after six-o-clock, and the beach had a lot of people looking out over the ocean. The Frolicking kids were in the background, and Dixon walked over to his car with the odor of iodine and seaweed stuck to everything, and he loved that smell.

A tall, fair haired young teenager approached him, and then Dixon said, "What's up, Teddy?"

"Nothing," he said with a depressed look on his face. "Just didn't have a good match today."

Dixon threw his board into the trunk, and then said, "You're rusty. You're coming off an injury."

"I know. It's just..."

"Listen, you'll get there. Practice makes perfect."

With a grimace on his face, Teddy said, "Told my father I was gay."

"How did he take it?" He asked.

"Not well. Not well at all," he said, "Talking about cutting me off."

"You'll have to make some changes," Dixon said, "What will you do about school?"

"All I can afford is a local college," he said, "Wanted to go to school in Europe, but that's not going to happen."

"Sorry, Teddy."

"It's okay. At least I got my friends," he said, "So, are you dating that nerd girl on the prom committee?"

"Um, why?" Dixon asked.

"Just asking," he said with a smile. "Rumor has it..."

"Okay. We're kind of going on a date tonight. Just the Peach Pit and then a movie."

"That's a date," Teddy said, "Have a great time. See you later."

Later on that evening, Dixon walked into the Peach Pit, and a young lady wearing a white dress with red circles hopped to her feet in an energetic manner, and said, "Dixie, over here."

Dixon gave a half smile, and said, "Hey, Hannah."

"Lunch is on me," she said as she grabbed his hand. "I'm just so happy you asked me out."

"Yeah. Um, you're going to Pepperdine, right?"

"You got it."

"Me too. We can carpool."

"Really? I'd love that. We'll have lots of fun."

"It's just gas prices are nearly six dollars..."

"You like me? Admit it," she said with a smirk, "I can tell."

"You're okay," he said with a smile.

"I'll take it."

After losing Ivy, Dixon decided to take a long break from having any relationships, but something about Hannah clicked. She wasn't the prettiest cupcake in the batch, but she had a bubbly personality that stole his attention every time she spoke. She sparkled, but had a personality about her that sometimes seemed overbearing. He watched her as she tore into a hamburger and thought, it wouldn't be so bad if we dated.

"What's wrong, Dixie?" She asked.

"Nothing. The movie starts in thirty minutes."

"Okay. Done!" She said, "Are we dating?"

"This is a date. We're officially dating," he said with a smile.

After the movie, Dixon and Hannah drove to the beach, watched the moon glistening off the ocean, and talked. There weren't too many people running around the area, and the couple pretty much had the entire beach to themselves. She sat up against his bare chest, and he loved her warmth as the cool breeze bounced off the night water.

"Are you going to kiss me?" She asked with a serious look on her face. "If you don't want..."

He suddenly kissed her, and she fell into his arms. "That wasn't your first?"

"It was," she said with a smile, "Can we do it again?"

Dixon slowly gave her another kiss when his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, and said, "It's Teddy."

"Dixon, can you come and get me?" He asked.

"What's up?"

"It's my car," he said, "Damn thing broke down."

"I'm my way."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

After Dixon dropped Hannah off at her house, he headed to Baylor Street, and Teddy sat on the curb in front of his little convertible. It was parked under a row of trees that hung over the street in an affluent neighborhood. The tow truck backed up to the car, and then Teddy asked, "When will it be ready?"

"Three days," the scraggly haired tow truck driver said. "You should get that forehead looked at."

"It's okay."

Dixon didn't want to ask any questions or pry into Teddy's life, but he noticed the scratches around his neck and the bruises on his face, especially the one on his forehead.

"What happened?" Dixon asked with a look of panic on his face.

With a long pause, he simply said, "It got wild."

"Wild?"

"Yeah, a few drinks turned into a freaking orgy," he said with a grimace, "Not my cup of tea."

"So, you fell down, huh?"

"You gotta do what you gotta do not to get raped," he said with a smirk, "I had no idea..."

"I get it," he said as he drove down the street. "Don't make fun..."

"About what?" Teddy asked.

"Me and Hannah are dating," he said smiling.

"Get out of here," Teddy replied, "Why?"

"She's special," he said, "You know what I mean?"

"No, I don't, Dixon. I mean..."

"I struck out with three hotties," he said while holding up three fingers, "She's the safe choice."

"Safe? Don't sellout for safe," Teddy said, "I thought this was just gonna be a trip to the Peach Pit and a movie."

"It was. That look. You know the one where you know it's right?" He asked. "I know you know what I'm saying?"

"Yeah. Well, just keep it honest, Dee."

He gave a lot of thought to the things that Teddy had said because honesty was a good start with any relationship. Hannah wasn't the prettiest girl in school, but he wasn't looking for pretty. He knew honesty while growing up in Kansas, but the fast life of California had smudged the line between honesty and dishonesty. Silver, Ivy, and Sasha were all pretty girls, the kind of girls that turned heads, and that was what he saw immediately, but they had character flaws. Hannah, on the other hand, didn't have a naturally beautiful face that turned heads without trying, but he felt a genuine truthfulness about her.

Dixon drove down the long path to Teddy's house, and Spence, Teddy's father, stood in the front yard barefooted and in a very expensive robe. He had his hands in his pockets and the skin on his face looked tighter than usual. It was full dark, but still early, and Dixon sensed a lot of tension between Teddy and his father. When Teddy hopped out of the car, Spence walked up to his son, stuck his finger into his face, and said, "So, is that your boyfriend?"

"That's Dixon," Teddy snapped.

"Has he gone gay too?" Spence asked with a scowl on his face. "Don't bring your gay lovers to my home."

"He's not my lover and he isn't gay," Teddy said in a loud, somewhat stressful tone. "He's a friend."

The old man looked over at the car for a minute, and Dixon stepped out of the driver's seat, put his hands in his pockets, and walked over to Spence.

"You met me last year," Dixon said.

"You know how many people I meet in a day, son?" Spence Asked.

"No, sir," he said.

Teddy shook his head in disgust, ran into the house, and Spence sat on the steps of his house. "You do everything to give your kids the good life, and ..."

"He's your son," Dixon said, "He's still Teddy."

"What do you know?" Spence asked.

"That he's in a lot of pain," he said, "But he's learning to deal with who he is."

Spence grunted for a moment, sat against the steps, and said, "Tennis, school, life, all areas that he never failed to disappoint."

"Just except him for him," Dixon said, "Life will be easier for everybody."

"So, you're not gay?' Spence asked.

"Nope, but I'm learning to understand that people don't choose the gay life," he said, "It is what it is."

The next day Dixon and Hannah walked on the beach, and she wore some jean shorts with a white t-shirt. For the first time, he noticed that she had a cute body on her when she wanted to show it off.

"Those jeans really look hot on you," he said.

She smiled with a sheepish grin, and said, "I'm a virgin, Dixie."

Dixon paused. "What are you asking?"

"That I don't want to be a virgin," she said.

A disparaging look swept across his face, and then he said, "It's not that I don't..."

"Am I not good enough?" She asked in a loud voice.

"Yes, but..."

"But what, Dixon?"

"We have the whole summer," he said as he sat down on the ground.

"What's really wrong?" She asked.

"It's just. Things always turn sour after sex," he said, "It's the same picture every-time."

She grabbed his arm, placed it over her shoulders, and said, "If we turn serious, then..."

"Then I won't mind."

The waves hit against the rocks with a violent motion as the couple started talking about Teddy's father. They walked along the beach barefooted, holding hands and enjoying the cool breeze that bounced off the ocean.

"Teddy's father sounds like a prick," she said with a grimace, "They have a huge selection of books and pamphlets about teens coming out in the library."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It wouldn't hurt him to checkout a few."

"I might go by there, and checkout some for myself," he said, "I mean a little education on the subject can't hurt."

"Nope," she said.

Dixon and Hannah sat against a huge rock on the north side of the beach, and he held her with a strong grip around her tiny waist. She had an enormous smile on her face that made her eyes sparkle, and she relaxed completely in his masculine arms. "I'm glad we're a couple."

"Me too, Dixie, me too," she said with a sheepish grin on her face. "Me too."

The next day Dixon and Annie sat at the breakfast table eating eggs and cereal. Dixon was reading the box of cereal silently, and then said, "Man, nothing like scarfing down a box of sugar."

"You love it," she said with a smile.

"So, how is Liam doing?" He asked.

"Fine. I skyped him last night, and he's loving it."

"But what about college?"

"College isn't for everybody," she said with a grimace. "If he saves for his own ship, he ..."

"That's exactly why he needs college," Dixon snapped, "With a business degree, he'd make better choices."

"Maybe, but I support him," she said, "Anyway, are you deejaying Club Metro tonight?"

"Yep. Got my playlists all set," he said, "They're paying me two." He held up two fingers.

"Two what? Two dollars?" She said laughing.

"Ha! No! Two grand," he said with a huge grin on his face, and then he spelled out a two and three big zeros with his hands. "Jealous?"

"Um, no. I got an inheritance, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," he said, "You're so lucky."

Dixon felt his phone vibrating, and pulled it out of his pocket. "It's Teddy."

"What does he want this early?" She asked.

"Hey, Teddy."

"Dee, something is wrong," he said.

"What's the deal?"

"I went to take a leak, and puss and blood..."

"Don't need to say another word," Dixon said, "I'm on my way."

As soon as he placed the phone back in his pocket, Annie asked, "What's wrong with Teddy?"

"Guy stuff," he said.

"Guy stuff?" She asked with a bewildered look on her face. "You act like he's got the drips."

"Yeah. Well, keep it to yourself," he said.

"Oh, snap! Burn baby burn," she said with a smug look on her face.

Teddy sat quietly the entire ride to the free clinic, a place where he could slide into without being recognized as the son of Spence Montgomery. Several fringe news agencies usually parked outside some of the major clinics to spot celebrities going in for minor treatments, and Teddy wanted all the treatments surrounding his illness kept secret from everybody, especially the media.

Dixon helped him out of the car because his genitals and lower midsection were throbbing in pain. When Dixon pulled open the doors for his friend, a cameraman popped on the scene, and took several photos of Teddy and Dixon.

"Did you see that?" Dixon asked.

"See what?"

"That dude took pictures of us," he said, "Think they recognize you?"

"Probably," he said, "Just get me inside."

When Dixon and Teddy walked into the waiting area of the free clinic, they couldn't believe the number of people. It looked like a fire hazard, and it smelled like a gym's locker-room. There were people with gunshot wounds that looked half dead, and it made Dixon uncomfortable. After Teddy signed into the visitor's log, they sat in the back corner.

"Maybe we should go to the hospital," Dixon said.

"Screw that. Nobody can know."

"I'm just saying. There's a million people in here."

"You can go," he said, "Just stay close to your phone."

"Screw that," he said with a grimace. "I'm here for you, man."

"Thanks, Dee."

Luckily, Teddy only had a urinary track infection given that it could have been much worse because he had unprotected sex with several male partners. As a whole, young men were reckless when it came to sex, and the free clinic had a bin full of condemns that they kept filled. Both Teddy and Dixon grabbed a bag full of condemns on their way out the door, and Teddy looked down at his bottle of pills, and said, "I was lucky this time." Another camera man took a lot more photos of them as they climbed into the car.

"Damn! I know they recognize you," Dixon said with an angry scowl.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Dixon slept half nude on top of his beanbag chair with the video game controller in his left hand, and a wad of one-hundred dollar bills set beneath his feet. The television's glare bounced off his oily forehead and a little bit of drool hung from his mouth like a piece of elastic string. A sweet girl friend, a fantastic deejaying gig, and the highest score ever on the video game—all made it a wonderful morning that he was too tired to enjoy. He received a ton of contacts at the club the previous night for more deejaying gigs, and he already had it in his mind to checkout every possibility. He wanted his name floating around the city as one of the top deejays in the business, but he knew that he needed more gigs to make that happen and it wouldn't happen overnight. His playlist was pristine, flawless. A loud scream—Annie-startled Dixon, and caused him to fall off the beanbag chair onto the floor. With his Momma in Vegas, he didn't expect to hear anybody screaming his name so early in the morning, and thought something must be wrong with Annie.

"What's going on?" Dixon asked as soon as he realized he wasn't dreaming. He wiped the drool off his mouth onto his shirt.

"You better get out here," she screamed, "Oh my gawd."

"I'm sleeping," he screamed through the door, "I've been up all night."

"Holy crap, Dixon! What did you do?" She asked.

"What?" He asked as he flung open his bedroom door to see Annie holding up "The Sleaze" an up and coming gossip magazine with him and Teddy on the front page. The caption read, "The Son of Spence Montgomery with His Gay Black Lover."

"Dixie, it says y'all went there for HIV testing," Annie snapped, "Lovers?"

"I can't believe this." He looked closer at the headline, and then slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Damn photographer."

"It's in black and white," she said, "What's the deal?"

"Teddy's car broke down, and I took him to the clinic for that drip," he said, "Some knucklehead cameraman snapped a photo."

"Sheesh. I bet Sasha has something to do with this," she said, "Read the third paragraph."

Dixon read through the article, and said, "An unknown source said that I infected her. Sasha!"

"Gotta be," she said, "Maybe she works there or something."

"Nobody reads this stuff."

"Usually I don't, but I saw your picture and flipped."

For the next few hours, Dixon sat on the couch and tried to call Sasha, but she never answered her phone. He didn't even know if she was alive, but he felt deep within his heart that she was the girl claiming to be infected. She had to be the girl in the article because the only other girl he had been with was Silver. The television was on, but on mute, and anxiety had torn through his soul like an out-of-control truck. Annie had fallen asleep on the other end of the couch, and she had her feet across his lap. He was a little agitated over seeing his picture in black and white on a tabloid newspaper, but he felt if he kept quiet, the news would go away in a matter of weeks. Even though Dixon wasn't gay, he felt it was important not to step on the gay agenda or say anything hurtful or arrogant. But at the same time, he feared what a gay rumor might do to his reputation, especially when it came to his side business of deejaying local clubs. What would people think if he was gay? If a man had a gay encounter, he can't wake up one day and claim to be straight like a confused teenage girl. A woman, on the other hand, can be gay through her teen years, claim it was a huge mistake, and then the world would eventually accept her as being straight. But a man on the other hand has a gay accusation in high school, and it would follow him like a shadow: all day and every day for the rest of his life.

His cellphone buzzed and it was Teddy on the other end. Gently, he moved Annie's legs, walked into the kitchen, and then answered the phone.

"Dee, I'm sorry, man," Teddy said, "Didn't have a clue something like this would happen."

"How do we fix it?" Dixon asked.

"Ignore it," he said, "That's the best solution."

"It'll be hard," he said, "Just not use to this kind of stuff."

He hung up the phone, laid on the floor, and tried to meditate on one single point on the ceiling like his Momma taught him to do when the pressure overwhelmed him. His mother had taught him to use the techniques of Yoga to help overcome life's pressures, but no matter how hard he tried to concentrate, he couldn't move past the tabloid article about him and Teddy and the whole gay thing.

Later in the day Dixon stepped outside, saw Hannah sitting on the front porch, and asked her, "How long have you been out here?"

Without turning around to look at him, she said, "'Bout thirty minutes."

"You could've knocked," he said as he saw her hold up the tabloid. "Oh. That."

"Is it true?" She asked as she turned to him with tears streaming down her face. "I just want to know, Dixie."

"Of course not," he said, "Teddy is a friend, but..."

"It said you infected some girl..."

"She's infected, but not by me. I'm HIV negative."

"What?"

"She had said an old boyfriend infected her, so I got checked out to be sure she didn't infect me," he explained, "But my test was negative. I took three more test, and they all came back negative."

"This is all scary," she said with a grimace. "I don't wanna get hurt, Dixie."

"The story is a lie," he said with a soft voice to reassure her. "It's a fake story."

Hannah took the tabloid paper, ripped it in half, and tossed it in the trashcan in front of the house. "We won't discuss it again."

"Never ever again," Dixon said, "So, what are your plans tonight?"

"Baking some cookies for Vacation Bible School," she said, "I'm an instructor."

"Oh. Okay," he said, "What time is that over?"

"'Bout eight o'clock."

"You know the Big Carnival is happening," he said with a cheesy grin, "Funnel Cakes and Popcorn Balls."

"Really? I love Funnel Cakes," she said with her typical happy face. "I'll be by around eight-fifteen."

"Okay then. It's a date."

After Hannah left the house, Navid pulled up in the driveway in his sports car, and screamed, "Can't believe you got tagged in the tabloids, Dee!"

"I'm glad to see you're having fun with this," he said with a snarl on his face. "These are stressful times."

Navid hopped out of the car, walked over to Dixon, and they slapped hands. He had on a brown blazer with blue jeans and sneakers, but didn't look like any eighteen-year-old normal kid. He wasn't the snazziest dresser on the block, but he had his own style that defined him. He looked as if he was a magazine salesman. "Man, how did this happen?"

"It's gotta be Sasha," Dixon said while shrugging his shoulders.

"Sasha? Man, that's stalking on a whole different level. Hey, what about the carnival tonight?"

"Taking Hannah. How about you and Silver?"

"I don't know, Dee. She's opposed to anything fun," he said, "It's insane. Prom, nope! Dancing, nope! Nope, nope, nope."

He laughed. "Don't think I don't know what you mean."

"I know you do, but I love her. It's just frustrating sometime."

"I need to call Raj."

"How's he holden up anyway?" Navid asked with a concerned look on his face.

"He has his moments," Dixon said, "It's getting bad, but Ivy's a trooper."

"I hate it for them."

"I'll see if they want to come," Dixon said as he grabbed his cellphone. "Try to get Silver to come too."

"I'll ask, but she hasn't been sociable since the whole Ade thing."

"Shoot. I forgot all about that. She did mess up."

"I know, right? But at the same time, I caused this. If I had been honest..."

"You don't gotta tell me. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, but..."

"What are you thinking, Dee?" Navid asked as if he knew what Dixon was thinking.

"But isn't Ade in our little crew?"

"Come on, Dixon! "

"If you caused this, you gotta fix it, right?" Dixon asked, "It's only right."

"Two weeks isn't enough time," he said, "Silver isn't willing to forgive."

"What about you?" Dixon asked.

"I don't know. I mean..."

"Just try to get Silver to come. It'll be a blast tonight."

"You got it, man. I'll call you later," Navid said as he hopped into his car.

Raj hadn't been feeling the best in the world since the wedding, but Ivy needed the support. A week earlier Dixon had visited Raj in the hospital, and Ivy looked like a complete wreck: no make up, ratted hair, and bags under her eyes. She hadn't slept in two days because she was stressing about Raj's health. One doctor gave Raj two years to live and another doctor gave him two months, but Ivy chose to be by his side regardless the amount of time he had to live.

In some ways, Dixon felt a little jealous of him because he had Ivy's undivided attention in a way that he never could. When he told Ivy that he loved her, he meant it. He meant it in a way that it nearly tore his heart from his chest when he found out Oscar had stolen her virginity from underneath him. It was a pain that didn't go away with the greatest of ease either. It was a lingering pain, a pain that caused his heart to swell like a water balloon, a pain that never passed, but a pain that he had to learn to manage. He dialed Ivy's number, and she picked up the phone.

"Hello, Dixon," she said.

"I hope all is well," he said.

"It's not. It's not at all," she said, "The doctor prescribed Raj a boatload of pain meds to make his transition easier."

"Transition?"

"Into the next life," she said, "Maybe a week. Maybe two. It's bad. It's real bad, Dixie."

"I can come by," he said.

"No. No, that's okay," she said, "It's just..."

"You don't have to face this alone, Ivy," he said with a compassionate voice, "You got friends."

She paused. "I know, Dixie. Just, maybe later. I need to pickup the house first."

"You got my number, right?" Dixon asked.

"Of course," she said, "It's under my emergency contact list."

"Okay. Tell Raj hi for me."

"I will. Take care, Dixie."

"You too."

When Dixon walked back into the house, he noticed Annie's shirt had crept halfway up her stomach, and she looked anorexic. Her ribs were showing and her stomach was completely sucked into her body. He thought back for a minute, and realized that he hadn't seen her eat anything since Liam left, and it started to show. It wasn't the first time that Annie had battled anorexia, but she had been eating without a problem for the last few years. At the same time, he started to think he might be overreacting because she had always been a little thin. He knew if he approached her about her weight that she would explode on him, so he decided to monitor her eating habits.

"Annie," Dixon said, "Wake up."

"What?" She asked as she pulled down her shirt.

"Thinking about getting a Sonoma Salad from Green Tree," he said, "You want one?"

"Hell to the yeah," she said with her eyes barely opened, "Chicken Sonoma. Chop chop."

"That's chop chop, please," he said with a grin, "Be back in a second."

Dixon walked up to the Green Tree restaurant, and Naomi was sitting under a big umbrella by herself with a pair of extra large shades on her face.

"Hey, Naomi."

"Where's your sis?"

"Sleeping on the couch," he said, "She's a little down with Liam gone."

"Oh. Well, I might be by later," she said, "Thinking of going to that carnival."

"Yeah. I think I have Navid on board, but I'm not sure about Silver."

"I'll talk to her," she said, "I'm so bored that I could kill myself."

"I know the feeling," he said, "What's Ade doing?"

"Like I know. I'm pissed at that little bitch."

"How long are y'all going to be mad at her?"

"When her ass apologies to Silver."

After Dixon picked up the two salads, he walked through the front door, placed them on the kitchen table, and then Annie walked into the room.

"You took long enough," she said, "I thought maybe you had to kill and cook the chicken yourself."

"Ran into Naomi."

"Oh. Well, what's she up to?"

"Plotting Ade's death," he said with a short chuckle.

"You know I haven't seen Ade in like two weeks," she said as she poured the dressing over her salad, "I mean Naomi was pissed."

"I know. Silver was pissed too, but I thought Naomi was going to put a hex on the girl."

Dixon watched Annie as she shoved the salad down her throat without any problems whatsoever. She ate the entire salad, and it was almost four-hundred calories.

"Man, that was really good on so many levels," she said as she wiped her mouth.

Dixon stared at her with an awkward grin.

"What?" She asked as she wiped her mouth. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"Nothing. I'm going by Ade's house," he said as he thought she's probably just skinny.

"For what?"

"'Cause she's a part of the crew," he said, "It's not the same if she doesn't show up tonight."

"You're playing with fire, Dixie."

"You wanna come?" Dixon asked.

"Yeah, right. I'm only a part-time member of this group," she said as she tossed her plastic bowl into the trash. "I'm basically saying if this so-called group is a circle, then I'm sitting right on the outside of it."

"Well, what time is Liam calling?"

"He's not tonight. Maybe tomorrow," she said, "It's iffy with his schedule."

Dixon sent Ade a text message that he was dropping by, and she replied with a "k." Nobody had seen Ade in over two weeks since Naomi told her to leave the party. She was a good girl, a girl with a lot of talents; but at the same time, she had a lot of potential to waste her talents too. Drugs, sex, and all the in between things caused her to fail more than once. She dropped out of school to pursue her music career, but she promised herself that she would get her GED, go to college, and be the best at whatever she chose to be.

When he finally arrived to her house, she answered the door in a grubby looking sweat shirt, pink sweat shorts, unkempt hair, and she had a musty smell. She plopped down on the couch without inviting him to sit, and she had some dried orange peels beneath her feet. Above the couch was several pictures of classic actors that looked familiar, but he couldn't place them off the top of his head.

"What brings you by?" She asked as she moved her hair out of her face.

"It's carnival time," he said with a smile.

"What's that gotta do with me?"

"You're part of the gang."

"Really, Dixon? Where was this gang when Silver stole my man?"

"Hey. Um, I didn't know anything about that."

"Well, I'm over it now. Washing my hands of all that."

"What are you saying?" Dixon asked.

"That I'm through with them," she said, "Done."

"We're going to miss you," he said.

"Nobody misses me."

"I'll miss you," he said.

She looked up at him with her big brown eyes, and smiled. "You miss me?"

"Of course. Annie does too."

"Um, Okay. "

"So, are you coming?" He asked.

"I'll be there," she said as she gave him a long stare. "Yeah. I'll be there." She smiled.

Dixon and Hannah sat in the middle of a crowded tent with Annie on the other side of the table watching the country band play a few tunes, and eating a pile of funnel cakes. Naomi was on the dance floor with her man doing some sort of line dance, and acting wild. Hannah had on a white cowboy hat with pigtails on either side of her head, black, cowboy boots, and she looked like a genuine country girl from the South.

Ade walked over to Dixon, gave him a hug, and Naomi rolled her eyes at her from across the floor. "I guess she's gonna stay mad."

"She'll come around," Dixon said, "Oh, this is Hannah."

"Hey," Ade said.

"Where's Liam?" She asked Annie.

"Somewhere in the ocean."

"Dead?" She asked.

"No. No. He's fishing."

Dixon laughed, and said, "The comedy."

"Let's dance, Dixie," Hannah asked as she stuffed some cake into his mouth.

"I don't do country," he said as he chewed his food.

"You're telling me your life is so perfect that you can't relate to country music?"

"No. But..."

"It's nothing but the blues, babe. Let's dance."

"Okay. Since you put it that way."

She stood directly in front of him, nose to nose, and then said, "We'll be doing the Texas Two Step. The count is one, two, threeeee, five," and then they started to dance around the entire room. In a matter of minutes, they looked like they had been dancing together for years.

"You got it, Dixon," Annie screamed from across the floor. "Fantastic job, bro."

People began to move to the dance floor, and it became overcrowded in a matter of minutes, but the couple continued to prance around the floor like seasoned professionals. Hannah had Dixon's undivided attention for over three songs, and then he noticed some heavyset country boy pull on Annie's arm, and she looked visibly upset. When Ade approached the dude, he pushed her up against a table, and then Dixon charged towards the guy.

"Hey, leave her alone," Dixon screamed.

"You best leave it be, boy," he said, "It's none of your damn business."

Before he could say another word, Dixon had jabbed him in the throat, and the guy fell face first onto the ground holding his throat. Hannah came up to him, grabbed him by the arm, and said, "It's time to go."

"Yeah," Annie said as she looked at the guy on the ground. "Is he alright?"

"Who gives a damn?" Ade said, "Bastard shouldn't have put his hands on us."

On the way home, Annie received a text message from Liam that caused her to panic. "Liam's in trouble, Dixie."

"What's up?"

"A storm. His boat might go down," she said, "This is horrible."

"How far out is he?" Hannah asked.

"'Bout a thousand miles," she said, "He's gotta make it."

"Have faith," Hannah said, "Gotta have faith."

"I'm trying, but..."

"He'll be okay, Annie," Dixon assured her, "It's Liam. He's one tough cookie."


	4. Chapter 4

Dixon and Hannah

Chapter 4

Teddy sat on the steps. Navid stood in the front yard. Dixon sat on the front porch. Annie paced back and forth trying to contact Liam, but it kept going straight to voice-mail. Her cellphone was no longer a device for communications, but an enemy. Every time she heard Liam's voice-mail, it was like a taunt, a slur that sent her into a frenzy. She hadn't slept all night, and looked like a complete wreck with her hair in discord with the laws of beauty.

"Let me get you something to eat?" Dixon asked as she continued to call Liam on her cellphone. "You gotta eat."

"Not hungry," she said with a grimace.

"Why don't I order a pizza?" Teddy asked as he pulled out his cellphone.

Dixon pulled out a twenty. "For me and Annie."

Navid handed Teddy a ten.

"What kind?" Teddy asked as he held the bills in his right hand.

"I'm good with anything," Navid said.

"Me too," Dixon replied.

The stress on her face tugged at Dixon's heart, and he was a little disappointed in himself that he couldn't make things better for his sister. She didn't handle stress the best in the world, and she looked as if she had slept in her clothes. The dark circles under her eyes were prominent enough to see from across the street.

"Are you going to deejay the Jar?" Navid asked.

"It's money. I don't care it's a gay club," he said, "It's five-thousand dollars."

"Man, they called you up because they read that article."

"Probably, but I'm going to ride this," he said with a grin. "Think about it. Gays pay the most."

"I don't know," Annie said with a grimace. "It sounds underhanded."

"How?" Dixon asked.

"Using gays to coat your pocket with greenbacks has to be wrong," Navid said, "Exploitation at its highest level."

"What would you two do?"

Annie shrugged her shoulders, sat down on the porch, and looked out over the yard. "Just wish Liam would call."

"Man, it's not an easy question," he said, "We'll just ask Teddy."

Teddy returned with two large pizzas with everything on them, and they all dug into the pizzas including Annie.

"Tell him, Dixon," Navid said.

"I'm deejaying the Jar," he said.

"Really? That's like one of the top gay clubs in the city."

"But they only gave me the job because of the article," he said.

"What? They don't think you're gay, do they?" Teddy asked.

"Maybe, but..."

"You should come clean," he said, "That way there's no ambiguity."

"What? You gotta be gay to deejay a gay bar?" Annie asked.

"Of course not," Teddy said.

"But you shouldn't let people think you're gay for favors either," Navid said.

"Okay, okay," Dixon replied, "I'll go down there later, and make sure it's okay."

Dixon and Navid drove to The Jar with its emblem of a gigantic jar on the front of the club, and walked into the business office. An older man sat at the desk with a pink scarf around his neck, and he simply asked, "May I help you two?"

"Yeah. I'm Dixon..."

"Oh. Oh. The deejay for Friday?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"What can I help you with, young man?"

"It's not going be a problem that I'm not...?"

"Gay," the man said, "Don't worry. We know." He giggled.

"I just didn't want it to be a problem," Dixon said.

"As long as you don't have a problem?" He asked as he stapled some papers.

"Not at all," Dixon said, "Thanks."

When Dixon walked through the front door of his house, Annie was sitting on the end of the couch in the dark. He walked over to her, and noticed that her cellphone beeped that the battery was low. He grabbed her telephone, and said, "Your battery is low."

"Just leave it alone," she said with a snarl.

"You can't receive a phone call if your phone is dead," Dixon said.

"It doesn't matter."

"Why?" Dixon asked.

"'Cause if he cared he'd call," she said as she snatched her phone from his hands. "Just leave me alone."

He walked into her room, grabbed her phone charger, and gave it to her as she pouted on the couch. She gently grabbed the item from his hands, and then said, "Didn't mean to snap, but..."

"I know," he said as he gave her a hug. "I'm worried about him too, Annie."

Dixon's phone lit up, and it was Hannah on the other end. He walked over to the door, opened it, and Hannah walked right into the house.

"Wow, Dixie," Hannah said, "It's like horror movie dark in here."

"That's how Annie likes it," he said.

"Hey, Annie," she said as she waved to her.

Annie raised her hand in the air, and gave her a half wave.

Hannah laid back on Dixon's bed like she owned it, and said, "Your bed is sooooo soft."

He laid beside her, stared at the ceiling, and said, "Worried about my sis."

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Her boyfriend is somewhere on the ocean," he said, "A huge storm might have caused him to lose communications."

"You can always check with the authorities if you think a ship might be in trouble," she said as she rubbed the back of his neck. "That's what I'd do."

Hannah had an inexplicable smile on her face most of the time, and they lay next to each other watching television. In a matter of minutes, she had fallen asleep in his arms, and they didn't wake up until early the next morning.

"Oh no," she said as she hopped to her feet. "My parents are gonna kill me."

"Oh crap," he replied, "What time is?"

"It's the next morning. Eight o' clock."

"You're eighteen," he said.

"I know, but..."

"Just tell them it's time to loosen the straps," he said as he rubbed her lower back.

She stopped everything she was doing, stood in front of him, and asked, "Seriously, Dixon, what are we doing here? I mean are we in a relationship or what?"

"What do you think?" He asked.

"That I'm the safe girl. The summer fling," she said with a sad face.

"No. That's not how I see you," he said with a strong voice. "It's up to you. I'm ready to take it to that next step."

"Okay, then."

The feeling of anxiety overwhelmed him for a minute as he watched Hannah standing in front of him. He wasn't one hundred percent sure he wanted to have a serious relationship with her; but at the same time, he didn't have anyone better than her. She had a bubbly personality, loved many of the same things he loved, and was kind of cute in her own special way. Every girl that he dated over the last few years, he told them at least once that he loved them, but he had already made his mind up that he wouldn't tell Hannah that. He grabbed her around the waist, gave her a huge kiss on the lips, and then gave her a deep hug.

"Give me a call later," he said as he held her by the hand.

"I will," she said.

When they walked out of his room, Annie stood in the middle of the living room with an awkward look on her face. "Y'all sharing a bed now?"

"It's not like that," Dixon said, "I mean we're getting serious, but we fell asleep by accident."

"Is that what we're calling it now? Hopefully you accidentally slipped on some protection?"

"We didn't do anything," Hannah said, "Your brother treats me like a lady."

"Yeah, Annie," Dixon confirmed.

"Men!" Annie screamed.

After he escorted Hannah to her car, he walked back into the house. "Did you sleep last night?"

"Sleeps overrated," she said as she flopped onto the couch.

"Annie, you gotta sleep! Go shower, fix your hair, and I'll take you to the authorities," he said, "They'll know if a ship sank or not."

Dixon drove Annie to the Marina del Rey, a small marina not too far from the Los Angeles Airport to check on the whereabouts of Liam's boat, The Baily. He parked as close as he could to the front of the building, and Annie leaped quickly out the driver's side door nearly falling onto the ground.

"You okay?" He asked with a grimace on his face.

"Yeah. Yeah. Hurry up," she said.

They walked into the main lobby to the front desk, and an older balding man stood at the counter. His name tag read Mark. Behind him was a huge map of the world with little thumb tacks that stood for ships located all over the Pacific.

"Can I help you?" Mark asked in a way that sounded more like, "What the hell do you want?"

"Information about The Baily?" Annie asked with a huge smile.

"What do you wanna know?"

"Is it safe?" She asked.

"Of course. A little storm can't stop The Baily," he said with a chuckle, "You gotta man on the ship?'

"Yeah. His name is Liam."

"Oh. That's the new guy," he said, "He'll learn to protect his electronics on the next trip. The new guys always lose their phones on the first trip."

"So everything is okay?"

"They'll be docking at the end of June," he said with a smile. "The Baily will dock in Hawaii in a few days. Maybe he'll pick up a track phone or something."

Dixon immediately recognized a change in Annie's attitude. He saw her smile after a week of crying over Liam's possible demise, and he was happy to see her happy. Since his Mother and Father divorced last year, the home hadn't been the same. There was a lot of anger in the house, but everybody kept it hidden behind a coated smile except Annie. Sometimes she vented about her father screwing up everybody's life; but at the same time, Dixon couldn't help wonder if he had anything to do with the breakup.

He sat on the front porch with his laptop, worked on his playlist, and then Hannah pulled up in the driveway. She ran up to the front porch, gave him a kiss, and sat down beside him.

"You coming with me tomorrow?" He asked as he continued to work on his playlist.

"Yeah. I mean will they let me in?"

"Of course. You're the deejay's girlfriend. The whole crew will be there except for Ivy and Raj."

She had a pamphlet in her hand that read, "Country Dance Off."

"What's that?" he asked as he grabbed it out of her hand.

"It's a dance contest that happens in October," she said with a frown. "Need a partner to enter though."

He smiled for a minute, and then said, "Have you entered it before?"

"Nope. But I grab a pamphlet every year and dream."

Dixon knew that Hannah had a love for country dancing and she was good at it too. September the fifteenth was the last day to apply for the tournament, and he gave a lot of thought to taking a few classes of country dancing at the local gym. They had a country dance class three times a week in the morning time that he signed up for immediately. It gave him an opportunity to learn something new, get in shape for school, and help his girlfriend win that dance contest.

"Can't believe I let you talk me into this," Annie said as she signed her name on the sheet for the dance class.

"You can't dance country either," he said as he signed his name next to his sister's. "I want this to be a surprise for Hannah."

"Fine. You owe me big. I mean really big, Dixie. I'm saying if I need a kidney one day you better be the first in line for a compatibility check big."

There were so many participants in the class that it took up an entire gymnasium. Dixon and Annie stood in the middle of the floor when the music started, and they did a little two-step around the room. The next song that came on was a Waltz, and the instructor demonstrated proper turns, spins, and counts. After thirty minutes of nonstop dancing, his legs began to feel like rubber and sweat poured down his back.

"Should've worn sweats," Annie said as she rested on the sidelines with her brother. She downed a bottle of water and Dixon did the same. "Let's go again."

After the first day, he wondered if he'd have the strength to do this for the rest of the summer, but he didn't want to fail. He wanted to do this for Hannah. In the back of his closet was some fresh, new clothes for the club with a pair of shiny black shoes. Annie knocked on his door, and she had on a sleek, black dress that made her look sexy and sophisticated. Hannah stood at the front door in a beautiful black dress that showed off her flat stomach. Dixon immediately thought, I didn't know she had a body like that.

When they arrived to The Jar, Teddy and Marco already commandeered a tabled next to the deejay's booth, and Dixon setup immediately with a string of tunes from Gaga to the Village People. He had the entire club jumping, and Hannah, Annie, Silver, and Naomi danced in a group surrounded by hundreds of gay men. Teddy walked away from the dance floor, and Dixon saw Marco pop several blue pills into his mouth. He thought to himself that he hoped Teddy wasn't doing drugs. As he continued to mix records, a bouncer walked up to him.

"Hey, some little sexy thang named Ade said she's a guest of yours?"

"Yeah. Let her in," he said.

When Ade walked to the dance floor, she pointed to Dixon, and he gave her a nod. She walked over to the group of girls on the dance floor, and Silver and Naomi walked off the dance floor. Annie grabbed Ade by the hands, and they started jumping up and down in a circle. Hannah walked over to her man, and sat down behind his turn table.

He played a love song, and couples all over the club headed to the dance floor, including Hannah and Dixon, Teddy and Marco, Silver and Navid, Naomi and Max, and Annie and Ade. When Dixon looked over at Teddy and Marco, Marco had his head rested on Teddy's shoulders. The black circles under his eyes was an indication to Dixon that he wasn't handling his drugs well. Marco stumbled backwards, threw up on Teddy's shirt, and then fell to the ground trembling and crying.

"Hannah, let me use your cellphone?"

She handed him the cellphone, and he called nine-one-one. "Yes. I'm at The Jar. I have a friend that has passed out and hit his head."

Teddy checked Marco's pulse several times, and administered CPR. "Give him some air," Teddy screamed.

The paramedics rushed into the club, put Marco on the gurney, and Teddy followed them outside. "Y'all go with Teddy," Dixon said, "I have about thirty minutes left and I'll meet y'all at the hospital."

Navid patted Dixon on the back, and said, "See you there."

By the time Dixon arrived to the hospital, Marco's family had filled the waiting room, and Teddy sat up against the wall overwhelmed by the events. Silver was sitting by him trying to comfort him, but Marco's mother kept verbally abusing him.

"It's your damn fault," she said, "Exposing my Marco to your lifestyle."

"I didn't expose him to anything," Teddy said as he stood to his feet. "Maybe he takes drugs because you don't accept him."

"We accept him just fine," she snapped, "It's his lifestyle..."

"That's it," Teddy said, "I'm not taking this."

Teddy, Silver, and Dixon walked outside of the waiting room, and a young lady walked up to Teddy, "Stay for Marcus. He thinks the world of you," she said.

"I just don't want to cause problems with your mom."

"She's old fashion," she said, "Just be here for Marcus, okay?"

Dixon sat up against the wall and Hannah sat between his legs, and slowly fell asleep. Teddy sat next to Dixon with Navid and Silver on the other side of him. Ade and Annie sat next to each other on a couch, and fell asleep. Naomi and Max left because they had some things they had to take care of the next day.

Dixon's legs felt like two mountains of pain, and he could barely walk because of the soreness. He tried to think back to when Marco took the drugs, and realized that he couldn't have done anything to stop him. Party drugs were at every party from high school and beyond, and Marco wasn't the only person that popped a few pills in the club. If he lived or died, he'll be just another number on some graduate student's spreadsheet about the horrors of party drugs.

A little Asian doctor name Choi came into the waiting area, and said, "He's going to pull through this time."


	5. Chapter 5

I'm not sure how I made the mistake of confusing Hannah with Harper, but Harper is the young lady that Dixon's dating in my stories. She's the one that he helped with the Prom. I will eventually go back and resubmit all my stories, change out Hannah with Harper, and I think that will work.

Dixon and Harper

Chapter 5

The smell of Ivy's pancakes nearly caused Dixon to go insane as he and Raj sat in front of the television playing some sort of football game on the X-Box. Raj had his good days and bad days, and today was a good day as he sat on the couch wrapped in a blue blanket. A picture of Ivy, Raj, and Dixon hung above the couch with all three of them smiling as big as possible on the beach.

Ivy was a good cook, the kind of cook that took pride in her food. She went out of her way to make every little dish perfect, and her pancakes tasted like they were made in Heaven's bakery. Dixon loved every bite of her food more than the next, and wondered for a split second how he ever let her slip through his fingers.

"The doctors don't know anything," Ivy said as she pushed her food around on her plate. "It's all a mystery."

"Yeah," Raj agreed as he tapped his fingers on the table. Next to his right hand was a pamphlet about his condition that Dixon grabbed.

Dixon took the pamphlet, read a little bit of it, and said, "There's a charity marathon to raise money for Leukemia?"

"Yeah. Some friends of mine do a half every year to raise money," Raj said as he took a small bite of his pancakes.

"Let me have this?" Dixon asked, "The gang might wanna run or at least donate."

"Every little bit helps," Raj said with a half smile.

Dixon wondered if Raj truly believed in his heart that every little counts since his cancer had spread throughout his body like the wildfires in Southern California. With every bite, with every breath, with every movement, he could see the pain in Raj's face, but he kept silent about it as if he didn't notice anything. He wasn't the kind of person to complain or shake his fist at God. He suffered in silence.

Ivy, on the other hand, looked withered like a starving plant, a shell of her former self. Dixon tried not to make eye contact with her because she had signs of more pain than Raj written across her forehead, and she looked ill. What does an eighteen-year-old in love know? What does an eighteen-year-old in love know about sickness? Nobody would have faulted her for simply backing out of the relationship, not even Raj. Dealing with this kind of pain at a very young age probably will scar her soul. At least Dixon could leave after breakfast, but he wouldn't. He would just grab the game controller, challenge Raj to another match, and joke about life.

When Dixon came home, Annie was in the middle of the living room stretching on the floor.

"My legs are so freaking sore," she said as she gently stretched, "Who knew swinging worked the muscles like that?"

He threw the pamphlet to her as she sat on the ground.

"What's this?" She asked.

"Thinking about running in that marathon for Raj," he said.

"A marathon?" She asked, "Are you freaking crazy?"

"Probably," he said jokingly, "But he can't do it. You can run in it too."

"I'm not running a freaking marathon, Dixie!"

"You can run a relay or something," he said, "Harper, Silver, Ade, Navid, Teddy, Marco, Naomi, Max can all help."

"But you wanna do the whole shebang?"

"Yep. If we can sell this to the rest of the gang, it'll be a blast."

"You and I definitely have different definitions of what is and what isn't a blast."

"If we're dancing Monday, Wednesday, and Friday then we'll run Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday," he said.

"Well, I guess sitting on the couch and getting fat won't happen this summer," she said with a smile.

Annie talked to Ade, and she agreed. Silver jumped on board with the relay immediately, but Navid had to give it a lot of thought. Naomi said she'd donate five-thousand dollars if Dixon finished the whole thing, but wouldn't run even if a pack of wild dogs were chasing her, and Teddy and Marco decided to do a half marathon. Max decided to run in the relay and Harper wanted to run a half marathon.

Dixon left out of the house in some running shorts, and ran a few miles to test out his legs. It was the end of May, and he knew that he had to focus in order to be ready to run the whole marathon by October. His legs were already a tad sore from the dancing, but after a few blocks he didn't notice any problems. When he was about ten minutes from his house, a patrol car pulled up beside him, and the cop rolled down his window.

"You training for something?" He asked.

"A marathon," he said, "Raising money to fight leukemia.

"Oh yeah. I ran in it two years ago," the officer said, "Tore my legs up."

"You should run in it this year," he said, "I got a friend suffering."

"I'll think about a half," he said, "That's about all my old ass knees can take."

Dixon laughed. "I think my legs can take it."

"Just make sure you got friends and family there," he said, "You'll need them."

"Thanks, sir," Dixon said as the patrol car drove down the street.

Harper and Dixon sat in the Peach Pit sharing a Sunday when a slender, light skinned black woman walked into the facility. When he looked up at her, he shouted, "Sasha!"

She turned around, saw him, and tried to run out of the building, but he grabbed her by the arm. The smell of the hamburgers cooking on the grill couldn't overshadow her perfume.

"Let go, Dixon," Sasha ordered as she pulled her arm away from his grip.

"What's going on, Dixie?" Harper asked.

"This is the girl in the article," he said.

"Oh. You read that?" She asked with a look of surprise on her face.

"Why, Sasha?" He asked.

"A huge promotion, insurance, and a corner office is why," she said with a grimace, "The medical bills were piling up."

"God, Dixie, you dated this soulless bitch?" Harper asked.

"What did she say?" Sasha asked.

"I said..."

"Write a retraction," Dixon said as he cut off Harper.

"Yeah right. That'll destroy my career."

"Your career? You write for a trash magazine," he said, "You can do better." Dixon grabbed Harper's hand, walked towards the front door, and said, "You're better than this, Sasha."

"You got more faith in her than I do," Harper said as she turned back for a quick glance at Sasha, "That's one cold hearted skank right there."

"Can't disagree with that."

Dixon and Harper sat on the beach overlooking the ocean when Ivy walked by with her surfboard. She didn't see the couple until Dixon called her name. "Ivy?"

"Hey, Dixie," she said with a smile. "Just out here enjoying the waves."

"Where's Raj?"

"Sleep," she said as she looked down at the ground. "Can't tell you two how much we appreciate y'all for signing up for the marathon."

"It's okay," Harper and Dixon said at the same time.

"Gives me something to shoot for," he said as he hugged Harper.

"I'm running a half," Ivy said, "Don't have the strength to do the whole thing, but..."

"That's good enough," Dixon said.

After Ivy left for the night, Harper and Dixon sat on the beach in each other's arms, but all he could think about was the sadness on her face. He didn't have romantic feelings for her, but at the same time he cared for her a lot. He slowly quit kissing Harper, and held her close to his body.

"Sleep with me tonight?" He asked as he put his fingers through her hair.

"A sleepover?" She asked.

"Um, more like making love," he said.

"Huh? Oh, ooooooooh," she said, "No, no. I want the first time to be special."

"Special? You mean like in an upscale hotel or something?" He asked with a soft voice.

"Something like that," she said with a smile, "The first should be special."

The downtown area was like a gigantic outhouse with every alley covered with urine and human feces, and Dixon and Harper followed close behind Teddy and Marco. She held on to his waist with a gentle grip, but tight enough that he knew it would take an army for her to break the hold. The fringes of society soaked the streets while the holy right followed behind with their signs condemning every person to hell, and he couldn't believe all the people that protested homosexual relationships. He had heard about all the protesters that swarmed the streets on the weekends in the hopes that they would some how convert some poor guy or gal to Christianity, but this was the first time he had ever seen this activity first hand. All Dixon wanted to do was watch the new movie, "The Priest" but it was only playing in a few movie theaters in the seediest part of town. The movie had opened a month prior, but he kept putting it off until the second week of June.

The black circles under Marco's eyes were as loud as the Christians with their signs condemning everybody to hell. He looked battered. He looked bruised. It had been two weeks since he overdosed, but his suffering lingered like the plague, and Dixon worried about him and Teddy. The fights with his father, the confusion about his sexuality, and trying to cope with people like the ones with the signs—all started to mess with his calm. Marco reached over, grabbed Teddy's hand, and they walked in front of the holy-rollers with their signs, and everything seemed alright; but when a group of large men approached them, Dixon saw Teddy pull away from his man as if he were ashamed of him. It happened fast, but it was like a book slamming on the table. He wondered if Marco felt rejected. He would have felt rejected if Harper did the same thing, but they were tethered together with her tight grip around his waist and his arm across her back. When the men grew closer, the tall white guy in the front gave Teddy an awful stare, the kind of stare filled with disgust and hate. Teddy and Marco kept their eyes straight ahead, but not Dixon. He couldn't help but noticed the anger on the man's face. He was nearly six foot four and huge with the kind of look that could bend steel. What if they made a move? What if they started something? Thoughts of violence raced through Dixon's mind with the speed of the drag racers that raced rebuilt cars two blocks to the west; and if somebody attacked Teddy, he already knew he'd have no choice but to fight too.

"Hey?" The tall man said.

The gang kept moving forward pretending as if they didn't hear the man.

"I know you hear me," he said, "I'm talking to you. The blond woosy."

Teddy stopped in his tracks, and Dixon and Harper almost ran into the back of him. "Just ignore him," Dixon said.

"You want a piece of me?" Teddy asked as he walked over to the guy.

"You're just a wannabe," the man said as he looked down to Teddy.

"What do you mean?"

"That you don't have the gall to hold your man's hand," he said, "It's wannabe gay guys like you that make us all look bad." The guy gave him one more look, and just shook his head in disgust. He looked over at Marco, and said, "Find yourself a real man."

After the movie, Dixon and Harper sat on the merry-go-round at a local park and Teddy and Marco talked outside the car. Marco lived only a few blocks away from the park.

"That movie was awesome," Dixon said as he stroked Harper's hair. She laid her head on his chest, smiling. "Tell you what. That movie makes me wanna become a priest."

Harper gave him an awkward grimace, and said, "You gotta cherry to pop first, bub."

Laughing, he said, "Got the room reserved for next weekend."

"It sounds wonderful."

When Dixon looked over at Teddy and Marco, Marco pushed Teddy, and said, "Screw you." He walked off down the street.

Later on in the evening, Teddy and Dixon skipped rocks across the beach in front of a sign that read, "No Throwing Rocks." It wasn't a small sign either. It had a picture of a boy with a rock in his hand with an x over the boy, but they ignored it. Teddy was upset. It was written on his face in bigger letters than the no throwing rocks sign that stood behind them, but they didn't care. Dixon knew the whole incident with the big guy had a hint of truth to it. He wasn't an idiot. It was obvious: Teddy was on some level ashamed of his gayness. Tucked away behind some closed door, it was okay for him to show affection for Marco; but in the real world, the much more prejudice world, he wanted to hide his way of life. He knew Teddy could throw rocks until his arm fell into the water, but at some point he'd have to face his gayness on a higher level.

Just because California touted being the liberal mecca didn't mean anything. Some flyover state passed a bill that allowed gays to marry, but not California, not the liberal mecca. Instead of leading the way, California chose to sit in the background, grovel to the sign holders, and be last on the list to do the right thing.

"So, we gonna talk about what happen earlier?" He asked.

"Just drop it, Dee," he said as he skipped another rock across the water. "You gonna harp on me too?"

"Damn right. You have something against the gay lifestyle, don't you?"

"You asking me or telling me?" He snapped.

"Asking you. 'Cause Marco is for real, but you..."

"You think it's about the attention with me?" He asked as he gave him a cold hard stare.

"You tell me?"

"You go to Catholic school, try to be a good little boy, but then it happens..."

"What happens?"

"Some priest tells you to sit on his lap. You don't think anything about it. You just do because he told you to do."

"Oh..."

"But you don't feel guilty because some perverted priest molested you. You feel guilty because you liked it. I'm afraid that priest is me and that some day some kid will sit on my lap. Isn't that how the chain of abuse goes?"

"But you're better than that."

"Father Tanner molested me until I was ten," he said with a soft voice. "Stood in front of him nude while he sat in the bathtub. He was looking right at me when I approached the water, but he wasn't looking at me. Didn't even notice he wasn't breathing. He was dead."

"Heart attack?"

"Yeah," he said, "I grabbed my things and didn't tell anybody."

"How long did it take before somebody found the body?" Dixon asked.

"Nearly three days," he said, "Did whatever had to be done to keep the secret. Even if it meant he had to rot in that tub forever. You're the only person that knows this so don't go blabbing."

Dixon slept late into the next day, and Annie kept asking him every hour on the hour if he was okay. He struggled with trying to sleep because the story of abuse that Teddy told him frightened him on many levels, and he made a promise that he wouldn't tell a soul about it. But he knew his friend needed help, the kind of help that required professional counseling. He didn't know if the ache in his neck was from stress or the dancing or the running, but he felt burdened with Teddy's life.

"Dixon? You up?"

"Yes, Annie. Damn!"

"You keep cursing at me, and I'll toss this food in the trash," she said.

"I'll be good."

"That's what I thought."


	6. Chapter 6

I took a little bit of time to jump into Annie's head in this chapter. She's dealing with some serious issues in my storyline and I also wanted to get Liam into the picture too. Navid, Dixon, Raj, Ivy, Harper, Liam, and Annie are in this storyline; and in the future, I'll like to get more of Naomi, Silver, and Ivy's mom in the story too. Thanks for reading. Enjoy!

Dixon and Harper

(Chapter Six)

Dixon sat in the kitchen eating his breakfast when he heard Annie fumbling around in the hallway bathroom like a mouse in a box of old cereal. He had placed twelve television dinners in the pantry on Friday for him and his sister to eat, but he immediately noticed that she hadn't touched one. They were the lean and healthy television dinners that didn't need refrigeration.

"Dixie, get me a roll of toilet paper. Please?"

He ran into the other bathroom, grabbed a roll of toilet paper, and handed it to her through a small crack in the door. "Now, go away," she ordered.

"It's not like I wanna listen, freak."

Annie stood in front of the bathroom mirror with a black weight-loss ban around her midsection that she used to try to lose weight. She had a bottle of water that she chugged on every few seconds in order to make the laxatives that she took before breakfast work. The only reason that she chose to help her brother with his stupid country dancing and running was because it was the best way to mask her weight-loss behind something positive. She knew her brother had questions when he noticed her on the couch, and he saw her ribs. As long as she ate in front of him, pretended like she enjoyed eating, and didn't spend longer than usual in the bathroom, he wouldn't be suspicious. But at the same time, she knew Hollywood didn't put fat chicks in lead roles, and when she looked into the mirror all she saw was fat.

"I don't wanna be some fat chicken hanging out in Walmart," she whispered when she pulled up her shirt to nothing more than a bag of ribs that she thought looked fat. The desire to have the magazine cover body overwhelmed her every thought, and with the help of the laxatives, she knew in a matter of time that she'd achieve that kind of body.

Dixon left out of the house around one in the afternoon with Harper, and they went on a picnic, and Annie sat in the living room flipping through channels on the television. A loud rumbling noise—her cellphone—startled her. She hopped off the couch to answer it, and the display read Liam.

"Oh my, gawd," she said loudly, "What took you so long to call?"

"Dang storm damaged my cellphone," he said, "You at home?"

"Yeah," she said in a soft voice.

"I'm on my way."

When Liam arrived, he had a small beard with a mustache, and the smell of fish guts had seeped into his clothing. Although he didn't seem to notice the smell, she did. He ripped off all of his clothes in front of her, and she threw them into the washer, and he hopped into the shower. The excitement of the moment caused her to stumble over her words, so she let him talk as much as possible.

"That storm nearly tipped the boat," he said as he bathed himself in the shower.

"Sounds exciting."

"You can join me if you want," he said.

"That's okay," she said as she raised her shirt to see a fat tummy staring back at her. She hated her body in every way possible, and she knew that if he saw her nude that he'd hate her body too. For a second she allowed her imagination to get the best of her, and she envisioned Liam throwing up when he saw her fat, out of shape body. The thought of him rejecting her scared her, so she lowered her shirt, and stood quietly by the counter. When she looked at the bathroom counter, she saw the box of laxatives hanging on the edge of the sink waiting to give away her secret. Without hesitation, she placed them into the bathroom cabinet so he wouldn't see them when he exited the shower. As long as it was daylight, she wouldn't let him see her completely nude, but she knew she'd have to give him some soon.

"How long will you be here?" She asked.

"At least a week," he said, "Should be back on the fourth for a few days though."

"Cool. Maybe we can go to the beach later?" She asked.

"Honestly, Annie. I'm a little tired of the water."

"Okay. Maybe the Peach Pit or something?"

"Yeah. A hamburger sounds good."

The whole time Annie and Liam were at the Peach Pit she kept thinking of a way not to eat her hamburger and fries. The fast food meal taunted her by constantly reminding her that the buns would go to her thighs and the meat would clog her arteries. She took a small bite out of the hamburger, ate two fries, and sipped on her diet soda.

"Aren't you hungry?" Liam asked after he ate another huge chunk out of his hamburger. "I forgot how good these burgers are."

"Yeah. Scrumptious," she said as she watched Harper's car park outside the window. "There's Dixon and his girlfriend."

When Liam looked out the window, he chuckled a little. "I knew he liked her."

"Everybody did except for Dixie," Annie said with a smile.

"There's my boy," Dixon screamed as he saw Liam sitting with Annie. He ran over to them, shook hands, and bumped shoulders. "How long you back?"

"A week," he said, "Hey, Harper."

"Liam..."

"Well, we'll let y'all get back to business," he said.

"That's okay," Annie said with the thought that Dixon and Harper could distract Liam long enough so she could conveniently dispose of her food into the trash.

"No. Really," Harper replied, "Dixie and I have a lot to discus."

"Well that and some making out," he said as Harper gave him a love punch in the arm.

"Sssssssh..." She smiled, "Annie, your bro is super."

"Yeah. That's Dixie for ya."

"Thank you," he said with a big cheesy grin.

After Annie and Liam left the Peach Pit, they headed back to her house, and he gave her shoulders a massage in front of the television.

"Have you lost weight?" He asked.

"No. Not at all," she said, "Thanks though."

His hands felt warm and wonderful against her soft skin, and she truly enjoyed him being with her. When he rubbed her shoulders, he gently removed the strap to her blouse, but she shoved it back on her shoulders, and tried to give him a subtle hint that she didn't want that right now. She felt that his hands would find a pocket of fat on her, and then he'd run away in disgust. What started off as pleasure began to turn uncomfortable as his hands moved their way down her side, and she imagined him grabbing a roll of blubber that would send him packing in disgust. He made an attempt to pull up her skirt, but she stopped him immediately because she felt that her stomach was bigger than usual.

"Later," she said softly.

"What's wrong?" He asked with a frustrated look on his face.

"It's just Dixie might pop in soon." Her mind wandered for a good excuse, but she couldn't think of anything except the possibility of her brother walking through the front door. Unfortunately, Dixon usually stayed away from home all hours of the night since he hooked up with his new girlfriend.

"Like he cares."

"I care," she said as she stood to her feet, straightened out her skirt, and plopped down on the couch.

"It's just I've been on the water for nearly a month," he said, "It's been over a month, Annie."

"Just hold off until later," she said, "Later, okay?"

For the next few hours, Liam had barely said a word to her. He sat back on the couch, and fell into a deep sleep while she went into her bedroom, and sat on her bed. The urge to checkout her body in the mirror overshadowed her urge to lay back, and go to sleep. She walked over to her bedroom mirror, raised up her skirt, and all she saw was a large, flabby belly mocking all the hard work she had done. But the real image was nothing but bones and skin, but her distorted image of her body wouldn't allow her to see what everybody else saw. She didn't understand how Liam could love somebody as fat as her, and he wouldn't truly appreciate her until she lost another five pounds. That was the thought that kept going through her mind all day and all night. If he saw her nude, he'd laugh at her fat thighs and the way they jiggled when she walked. Through the years, she had learned to handle all sorts of disappointments, but she couldn't handle Liam mocking her fat, out of shape body.

She undid the top portion of her blouse, and thought if she only showed her breast and lifted up her skirt then that would be enough to satisfy him; but if he had to see her totally nude, she wouldn't be able to comply with that. A few years earlier she understood why she had to spend a little time in an anorexic clinic because she was truly too thin. But not this time. Her flabby arms, fat stomach, and cottage cheese legs taunted her as she looked at herself in her bedroom mirror. She hated the way she looked, so she pulled her robe out of her bedroom closet, and then tossed it over her mirror so she wouldn't have to see her frumpy body.

She could sit on his lap, give him a little, and he wouldn't have to see her oversize stomach as long as she kept covered with a blanket and shirt. It would satisfy his sexual need and she wouldn't have to expose her flabby belly.

Frustrated, she walked back into the living room wrapped in a fluffy blanket, and straddled Liam's lap. She kissed him on his face until he slowly awoke to her on top of him. He attempted to remove her shirt, but she shoved his prying hands down to his side.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing," she said with a grimace. "Just kiss me."

He tried to kiss her some more, but then he simply said, "Up. Just get up."

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"It's like you're not even into it," he said, "What're you hiding?"

"Nothing!"

"It's something. Something is wrong."

"Why do you think something's wrong?"

"First, you hardly eat anything at the Peach Pit and then you act like you don't want me touching you. You tell me, Annie?"

"Just leave, Liam."

"Fine," he said, "Maybe you'll get your act together before I go back on the water."

After Liam left frustrated and angry, Dixon ran through the front door and into the bathroom as if his butt was on fire. "Dammit, Annie. Toilet paper?"

She handed him a roll of toilet paper through a crack in the bathroom door, and he thought, "We really need to start putting more toilet paper in this bathroom."

Later on in the evening, he walked into the kitchen, grabbed a few cookies out of the cookie jar, and then noticed the jar was completely full. "Am I the only one eating these?" He asked himself as he walked into the living room where his sister surfed through the channels with a nasty grimace on her face.

"What?" She asked as she looked up at him with a nasty snarl.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked as he tried to give her a cookie.

"I'm not hungry," she snapped, "Quit trying to shove food in my mouth."

"You and Liam fighting? Don't put me into it."

"Don't worry about it, okay?"

"I'm not. I'm just saying—don't put me in it."

As he walked away from her, he whispered, "You need to eat something. You look like a damn twig."

"What did you say?" She asked with a grimace on her face.

"Nothing."

"You know, Dixon. You're a piece of crap," she said.

"Whatever. I'm out."

He didn't let his sister's nonsense bother him because he knew when things weren't going right that she had a tendency to be short with him. Last summer when their parents finally called it quits, Annie locked herself in her room for a week. He could only imagine what Liam told her to make her crazy. Angered, he hopped in his car, drove to Ivy's house, and relaxed in front of the television playing Raj in a few video games.

Raj sat on the couch smoking weed in order to deal with the pain, and Ivy wasn't anywhere to be found. His only amusement seemed to be blowing smoke rings all over the living room, and laughing at the weirdest things. He couldn't tell if it was the weed or the pain pills making him loony, but he seemed somewhat happy.

Ivy usually took to the waves to clear her mind, and Raj sat home alone smoking his grass. It wasn't clear to him if his friend was on his last days, and the weed only masked the pain until he stopped smoking it.

"Hope you don't get a contact high," Raj said with a wicked grin.

"Nah. Doubt I will," he said as he grabbed the video game remote.

"Shoot, Ivy's on the water," he said, "Trying to clear her mind."

Ivy walked through the front door, and waved to Dixon, but walked past Raj without acknowledging him.

"Tell Dixon what you're thinking of doing?" She asked as she stood tight lipped in the kitchen.

"Tell me what?"

"Assisted suicide," he said softly.

"Seriously?" Dixon asked.

"That's giving up," Ivy snapped, "That's quitting."

"The bills. The pain," he said, "I hate being a burden."

"Raj, you can't think of it like that," he said, "You could get better."

Raj looked at Dixon for a long minute, and then said, "That'll never happen, Dee."

"It could," Ivy snapped, "You can't give up."

"It was just a suggestion," Raj said, "You two needs to relax a little. Damn."

"We care about you, man," Dixon said.

After a few hours of beating Raj in video games, he left from Ivy's house, drove over to Navid's house, and sat in his room as he pondered over the whereabouts of his father. He didn't regret turning his father into the authorities; but at the same time, he hated the pressure it put on his mother. He heard several rumors that his father sat up a child pornography ring somewhere in India, and a lot of poor families with debts gave their little girls over to the man willingly. He felt a lot of grief every time his father's illicit behavior crossed his mind, and he often wondered if he could continue to drive a fancy car built on the backs of under aged children.

"What would you do?" He asked as he bounced a small basket ball. "All this time I thought my Pops had a legitimate business."

"Shoot, man. I don't even know what to say."

"Your father was honorable," he said.

"Well, I would like to think so, but he had his faults."

"Nothing like child pornography though. That's a serious smudge on my house."

"One day you'll have your own house," he said, "Make your own way in the world."

"I'll do it the honorable way."

He left Navid's house, went home, and he noticed that he had a message from Harper. She was on her way to his house, and he wanted to see her fresh face. He had grown tired of dealing with everybody's problems, and wanted to hold his girlfriend. When he walked into the kitchen, he looked in the pantry to see if his sister had eaten any of the television dinners that he purchased on Friday. He told her she could have as many as she wanted, but she hadn't eaten any. There were ten in the pantry because he had eaten two. He knew she wasn't eating, but wanted to make sure he had plenty of evidence when he confronted her about her anorexia.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Annie The Anorexic

Frustrated, Dixon sat on the living room sofa waiting for his sister to lace up her running shoes. Her legs were skinny with more spider veins than an old woman, but he tried not to focus on that. Out the door on the pavement with one mission—run six miles in forty minutes. That's the thought that raced through his mind, but Annie planned to run the first three miles or until she felt she had enough jogging for a Monday morning. It was warm, but not too warm and the streets were quiet and empty with an occasional car horn blasting in the wind. The morning breeze rushed through the trees and his motivational level was above average.

Tucked in the inner pocket of his shorts was his black cellphone in case of an emergency. His sister walked in front of him wearing baggy shorts and a baggy shirt that looked as if she had grabbed his clothes, but she had shrunk to a size zero, maybe smaller. _What's beautiful about the girls in the magazines?_ He thought to himself. He had a hard time completely understanding her infatuation with the skinny girls in all the covers. The girls in the pages of the ads and Annie both desired beauty; the girls, airbrushed, makeup artist, and expensive personal trainers to achieve success; Annie, a box of laxatives. In the end, they all would end up on speaking tours telling other girls the pitfalls of beauty, if they were lucky. The other ones would probably end up in their hometown cemetery with their youthful beauty intact. Live hard and fast and die before thirty was something he wouldn't allow Annie to do. Not his sister. Not ever.

"Annie," he said as he watched her stretched in the streets.

"What?" She asked.

"Are you eating?" He asked as he tugged on her shirt.

She pushed his hand away, and said, "Yes, Dixon!"

"Bull," he said, "You haven't touched one TV dinner." He pulled his cellphone out of his shorts, snapped a picture, and showed it to her. "Look, Annie?"

She took the phone, and looked a little shock. "What did you do to the picture?"

"Nothing," he snapped, "That's you. Skinny and frail."

"Oh my God," she said, "But when I look in the mirror..."

"Distortion. I know. It's just like before."

Angered, he sat on the curb with his head in his hands, weeping. His sister continued to look at the picture with a look of disgust on her face, and simply said, "Maybe I should eat more."

"Just eat at least sixteen hundred calories," he said, "With all the exercising we're doing, sixteen hundred is all you need."

"Okay, Dixon. Okay."

When he returned from his long run, Annie sat in the kitchen stuffing her face with a few pancakes. He showered, went to Ivy's house, and played video games with Raj.

"How you feeling?"

"It's up. It's down. Today it's down."

"Shoot, maybe we can go to the Peach Pitt or something later," he said, "That might cheer you up."

"Nooooo," Ivy said as she walked into the living room from the kitchen. "That's too much stress."

"The Peach Pitt?" Raj asked.

"The doctor said rest," she said.

"It's not like I'm gonna get better," he said.

"Hey, I didn't mean to start anything."

"You didn't," Raj said, "It's been like this for weeks."

The overwhelming smell of the incense that Ivy burned all over the house caught his attention within seconds of entering the dwelling, but he didn't say anything about it. He smoked his weed nonstop to deal with the pain, and he had a trash can full of bloody tissues from his bleeding nose. Every hour on the hour, Ivy attended to his every need, but she had suggested several times that it might be time for a hospice nurse. It was hard to say because one day he'd be flat on his back, and the next day he'd be on his feet and motivated.

"Just go, Raj," she said with the dark circles under her eyes, and a look of frustration on her face.

"I won't go," he said.

In Dixon's mind, he thought if his friend hopped off the couch every now and again that he'd feel a little better; but at the same time, he wasn't suffering from a cold. It wasn't as if he'd wake up one day without death looming over his head. It was going to happen sooner than later, and his wife wasn't prepared for the worse. After a while of playing the video game, Ivy rolled an oxygen tank into the room, extinguished his joint, and placed the mask over his face. The thumbs up and a smile, and she walked back to the kitchen with her surfing magazine and a coffee while Raj overtook Dixon on "Pro Football."

"You beat me," Dixon said, "Can't believe you came back like that."

"You didn't let me win, did you?"

"Nope," he said, "You worked it."

When he left out the house, Ivy followed behind him, and he knew she was going to let him have it. He could feel her frustration. Arms folded. Lips tightened. Chin down. She stood by the steps leading up to her house, with her bare feet on the bottom step, and she had pulled her hair into a ponytail. "Quit egging him on, Dixie," she said.

"I'm not."

"You're the only friend we have," she said, "He can't be out and about."

"Just want to go to the Peach Pitt."

"Especially the Peach Pitt," she snapped. Her eyes watered a little, and he could see the pain in her face. "I still love you, Dixie, but I won't let you or anybody take him from me."

"Like I'd do that," he said, "Come on, Ivy. You're getting carried away."

"Am I? I know he's going to die. I knew that when I married him," she said with her hands on her hips. "But it's not fair."

"Life's not fair."

He held Ivy for a minute, gave her a hug, and then left; but at the same time he felt a little sorry for her. He wouldn't tell her that. He'd never tell her that. His heart held a special place for her too, but he couldn't see himself with her, even if Raj wasn't in the picture. Maybe it was Oscar's interference, but he didn't even know if that was the case. He loved her, but that was that, nothing more.

When Dixon stormed through the front door, he nearly passed out on the floor when he saw Annie and Liam having sex in the living room. "What are y'all doing?"

"Sorry, bro," Liam said.

"Oops!"

"Something wrong with your room?" He asked.

Liam pulled up his pants, and said, "Got caught in the moment."

Later on in the evening, Dixon and Liam went over to the marina, and Liam grabbed his paycheck. It was a warm evening, and they had made plans to watch Teddy in his tennis match. The two sat up at the top of the stand, and Teddy wore a white shirt, white shorts, and had a rainbow pin over his heart.

"How is he doing?" Liam asked.

"Ahead this round," he said, "He's going to take this."

"There's Navid and Silver," Liam said.

"Navid!" Dixon blurted.

They ran up to the top, and Silver asked, "Why are you two in the nosebleed section?"

"Just chilling," Liam said.

"Where's Ade?" Dixon asked.

"Haven't seen her in a week," Silver said as she leaned against Dixon's legs. "Probably not going to for the summer."

"Might go by there tomorrow after my dance lessons."

"Dance?" Liam asked.

"You didn't know?" Navid asked. "Dixon entered a country dance contest."

"Really?"

"A little surprise for my girl," he said, "She's been wanting to enter the contest for years."

"Harps got you wrapped around her little finger," Liam said.

"It's true," Navid chimed.

"She treats me right," Dixon said.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Silver asked in a snotty way.

Her question caught Dixon off guard, and then he said, "I didn't mean anything by it."

"Well, you should watch your mouth," she snapped, "'Cause I felt you were pointing fingers at me."

"Well, I wasn't."

"Ace!" Naivid yelled.

"Did you see that?" Liam asked.

"Told you. Teddy is the man," Navid said, "Go, Teddy!"

After the match, Dixon and Liam drove to his house, and Liam hung out with Annie while Dixon talked to Navid on the front porch. Navid had shame written all over his face, but Dixon didn't know the reason immediately. He knew that Silver had been driving him crazy since Ade messed up her medications. He just knew that Silver did better on the drugs than his birth Momma. She'd take the drugs, but she also drank wine all day and all night; and the alcohol reversed the effects of the drugs. That's probably the reason she abandoned him, but he didn't truly know. He just speculated all the time about that.

"She's drinking, Dee," Navid said, "Every freaking day."

"What are you saying?"

"Guzzling the wine. The cheap stuff too."

"Oh hell," he said, "That means she's acting crazier than ever."

"Exactly," he said, "Messing up my entire summer."

"What are you thinking?" He asked.

"I don't know. Ade neglected me, but this is a whole different level of torture."

"Been through it," he said, "First, my birth Momma did the same thing."

"Yeah. Silver grabbed a knife last night, and forced me out her house."

"What happened?"

"After we had sex, she accused me of thinking about Ade. It caught me completely off guard."

"Damn! Ouch!"

"I don't know, man. I really like her, but ..."

"Talk to her about the drinking," he said.

"Tried, man. It's insane."

Navid left a little bit after ten that evening, and the next day was going to be a long day. He had to prepare for his date with Harper on Friday, and make reservations at the hotel. He knew Navid's pain, but didn't have any good ideas when it came to Silver.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Naomi laid back on the living room sofa with her feet on the coffee table, as if she paid the rent, and Dixon walked by her, knocked her feet to the ground, and she gave him a dirty look.

"That's my feet," she snapped.

"That's my coffee table," he replied.

"You two," Annie replied, "That's our coffee table. Thank you."

"Anyway, I'm tired of the momma's boy."

"Naomi, you knew the deal," he said with a grimace. "He's like a major nerd, but you caved."

"And Harper's not?"

"Whoa! Don't bring my girl into this. She's not a daddy's girl."

"You got a choice," Annie said, "If he makes you happy..."

"He served a purpose, but not now."

"What purpose?" Dixon asked in a sarcastic manner.

Naomi gave him a look, as if she wanted to rip his head off his shoulders.

"That's my cue to leave," he said.

Naomi changed boyfriends like clothes, and he didn't want to hear her bull because he had to prepare for his big date with the Harp. He spent the majority of the week planning their little Friday night romp, and he wanted everything perfect. Over the last month, his feelings for the president of the year book committee had grown like a wild flower, and now his feelings were out of control. Several times he imagined himself telling her that he loved her, but he didn't want to say it too soon like he did with Ivy. He wanted to wait until school started in the fall.

Looking through his box of condoms, he realized the only rubbers in his possession were the ones he had gotten from the clinic; and the last thing he wanted to do was have the Harp's first time to be with a government issued prophylactic. The feelings he had in his heart for her forced him to buy some stylish condoms, the kind of condoms meant for a king, Silky Glow. He took a trip over to the Mega-Mart Super Center, and walked directly to the condom section. He grabbed a box of condoms that read the sexual experience would be like having sex under a strobe light, but he didn't believe the claim, but the box cost fifty dollars for five, so he thought something must be special about them.

Navid called him about meeting at the Peach Pitt, and discussing things, but he had sensed a lot of pain in his heart. He walked out to his car with his condoms, and tucked them inside the glove compartment. He thought that his best friend believed his world was ending, and like a strong wind, he'd fade away if he stayed with Silver. Dixon felt that nobody was an island, and needed friends to vent to every now and again, and he was that friend, that ear. In the back of his mind, he wanted him to walk away from Silver because life was hard; and if he tried to spend it with a bipolar girl, he'd only find heartache. It wasn't that Dixon didn't like Silver. He loved her. He held on to her in his mind, but he felt the sting of her mental illness. He knew better than anybody about the pain of the disease. It was that disease that caused the state to take him away from his birth mother. Nevertheless, he knew that Silver's normal day would be a wreck for Navid, and at the end of the roller coaster ride, he'd stand at hell's door step struggling to understand why he can't feel the heat, but he'll see the devastation of the burn.

When Dixon walked into the Peach Pitt, Navid was sitting near the rear of the restaurant drinking some coffee, eating a bagel, and looking sad, and Dixon sat across from him. He took one more sip of his coffee.

"Looking a little gloomy?" Dixon asked.

"Silver's medications aren't working," he said in a whisper. "She's like doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

"She still drinking?"

"Every time I see her," he said, "Startin' to think being Ade's shadow wasn't so bad."

"Break up."

"Thinking about it, but..."  
>"But nothing. This bipolar stuff doesn't get any better."<p>

He had a long talk with his best friend in the Peach Pitt, and he realized almost immediately that Navid wouldn't break it off with Silver. He read a report once that millions of people have some kind of mental disorder, but they learn to live with it over time. And if she was anything like his birth mother, no man would stick around with an abusive, bipolar woman too long, especially a drinking crazy bipolar woman. Well, Navid would. Unfortunately, if he married her, his sanity would depend on how well her medications were working. One skipped dosage. Two skipped dosages. Three skipped dosages, and then the big snap, everybody's sitting in court trying to explain the madness of what would become Silver's life. "Better him than me," he whispered to himself.

Late on in the evening, Dixon walked up to Harper's house with a bouquet of roses, knocked on the door, and a scrawny older man answered it. He gave Dixon a good look, stuck out his hand, and simply said. "You are Harper's boyfriend?"

"Yeah. I am."

"Harp!" Her father yelled. "Dixon's here." He gave him a little snarl, walked out of the room, and then Dixon stood in the middle of the living room with an uncomfortable feeling.

Everything in her house had a place. It almost felt as if a computer positioned every item so that it would be in the best place possible. It was a two-story house, and Harp stood on the top stair in a very nice black, spring dress that exposed her arms. She was much trimmer because of all the training for the up and coming half marathon, and she had on just enough makeup to bring her beauty to the surface. She had a light tan, the kind of tan that came from a lotion not the sun, but it was a smooth tan, cohesive; and out of nowhere, she slapped a black cowboy hat on her head.

"How do I look?" She asked.

"Radiant. Country girl radiant."

He took her to an eighteen and up country club called The Twister, and the parking-lot was full of trucks with deer mounts on the hood. The sign on top of the club was a gigantic cowboy hog tying a tornado, and Dixon put a black baseball cap on his head, and walked into the club with Harper by his side. She was wide-mouth and happy, and he giggled a little as he sat down towards the front of the club near the dance floor. He pulled out the chair for his girl to sit, and she sat down, and then he sat next to her, and ordered several drinks.

"Look at 'em, Dixie. They're tearing it up," she said after taking a swig of her beverage.

After he took a good look at the couples twirl each other around the dance floor, the deejay played a Hip Hop song, and the couple took to the dance floor, and began to dance. When the two Hip Hop songs ended, the country lineup began again, and the couple sat back down near the dance floor.

A large guy approximately six-foot-two stood over Dixon's table, and placed his knuckles on it like a bull dog ready to attack. He chewed on some gum, and then said, "You know, people always say blacks can dance, but they can't. I mean if it's Hip Hop, they can do that little shoulder crap, but real music, man music, and they get all lost."

"Are you talking to me?" Dixon asked with a little anger in his voice.

"Dixie, let's go," Harp said with a grimace on her face.

"That's right. This is a country club." The cowboy stood over Dixon's table. "You don't got the boots to hang with the men."

"Let's go," Harp said as she grabbed his hand.

Dixon looked up at the sign about the country dance off that stood over the floor, and then looked up at the big guy. "Is that dance off tonight?"

He laughed. "You and her think y'all can hang?"

"Why not?" Dixon asked.

"Fifty bucks sign up fee," the guy said.

"What are you doing, Dixie?" Harp asked as she pinched him on the arm.

"We can beat this guy," he said.

"What do you know about boot scootin?"

"We'll two-step the night away," he said with a big smile. "Just give me a chance?"

After Dixon paid the fifty dollars to enter the contest, the deejay told all the participants to line up on the other side of the dance floor. The entire time he could feel Harp giving him the evil-eye, but he didn't let that phase him. The big country guy walked in front of him with his girlfriend, and asked, "What's your name?"

"Why?"

"So, I'll know the person I'm beating."

"Dixon. What's your name?" He asked.

"Steve," he said.

"Gawd, Dixie. You do know how to dance, right?"

"Been practicing..."

"Why didn't I know about this?" She asked.

"Wanted to surprise you," he said, "I've entered us in the country contest in October."

"Wait? What?" She asked.

"We can win it," he said.

"You did that for me?"

He smiled.

There were twenty-one couples standing at the end of the dance floor, and Dixon and Harp were the youngest, and a little different from the rest. He had on a baseball cap and dress shoes while all others had on cowboy hats and boots. When the music started, the couples took off two-stepping for the big money prize, and he swirled Harp like a butterfly floating on air. She moved with grace and eloquence with every turn, and he thought that she was much smoother than his sister. He saw couples leaving the floor after the judge tapped them on the shoulder, but he kept two-stepping and twirling her, as if they were the only ones in the entire building. The judge walked by his shoulder, but didn't tap. He tapped the couple next to him, and he spun Harp repeatedly, and the crowd cheered. When the music stopped, it was just Steve and his girl and Dixon and Harp in the middle of the dance floor dripping with sweat.

"Get ready for the dance off!" The deejay screamed. "Red Neck Woman" screamed through the speakers, and Dixon and Harp spun around the room, but this time Dixon did the majority of spinning, and she played to the roar of the crowd. She could tell that they loved the way she took control during a song that represented a strong, independent backwoods woman; and when the music stopped, the judged declared Steve and his girlfriend the winner.

Harp grabbed the second place trophy, held it in the air, and kissed Dixon. "We did it, baby."

"Second place?"

"Is better than third," she said, "We'll take first the next time."

Steve gave Dixon and Harp the thumbs up, and said, "Y'all are no joke. It could have went either way."

"Maybe next time," he said.

After they left the club, they drove to the hotel, and sat in the parking-lot for a little while, and kissed. It was her night, and she deserved a special night. He thought back to Sasha and Silver, and thought sex should be more than a romp in some back seat of a car. For the first time, he felt like himself, and he knew she was real. She sat in the passenger seat in her country outfit and little tassels on her boots, and she didn't try to hip-hop her attitude one bit. She was country and she stayed country, and he liked her like that, a lot.

The aroma of the room caught his attention, as soon as he walked through the hotel room door. Harper ran to the heart shaped bed, and sprawled across it. A machine spewed a kiwi scented smell that stood next to the window, and he placed a small bag on the dresser. It held his protection.

"It feels so good," she said. "Lay next to me."

He sat on the edge of the bed for a second, and then he laid down next to her pushing his fingers through her hair. What he felt was overwhelmed, anxious, and even a little frightened that his relationship with her would end, would take a bad turn after sex. It was so easy to rip off her clothes, and love her like no tomorrow, but what about tomorrow, and the next day, and the day that she walked away. Sex was easy; and for a short while, it would be fun. Nevertheless, life was complicated, and he knew his life would be hard because he had a knack for picking the crazy ones, the ones with a little something wrong up top. A fake pregnancy, some mental illnesses, and a virgin willing to give it up to anybody-all was more than he could take in a lifetime, and he only imagined what Harper's compulsion could be.

He traced the outline of her smooth face, over her lips, and wondered how he missed the magic of her beauty for so long. The end would come and the memories will last for a lifetime, at least the memories that mattered, and she mattered. He loved her and held her and showed her through the way he touched her; and after he gently wiped her tears, he held her, and made love to her until his cell phone rang.

"Your cell phone," she said softly.

"Ignore it."

"What if it's important?"

"They'll call back."

Time passed. It was two in the morning, and his cell phone buzzed with a text message on the screen. Harper lay in his arms asleep and comfortable, but he had to move her gently in order to look at his phone. "Get home. Mom is in an Oklahoma hospital." When he grabbed his cell phone, he freaked. "We have to go."

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"My mother, She's in a hospital in Oklahoma."

"Oh, crap."

Dixon ran through the front door of the house, and Annie sat on the couch with tears streaming down her face.

"Why didn't you call me back?" She asked.

He gave her a look, and then said, "You know?"

"Oh. Well, I wouldn't have called, unless it was important," she said with a grimace, "Got two round trip plane tickets to Oklahoma City."

"For how long?" He asked.

"Until Sunday," she said, "It was a car accident. Don't know how bad it is."

When they landed in Oklahoma City, they immediately grabbed a rent-a-car, and drove to Saint Paul's Hospital where Mrs. Wilson lay in a single person bed on the fifth floor. Dixon was the first one through the door, and he was relieved to see his mother watching television with her leg in a brace. She was a little pale and out of it, but he figured it was the medication.

"Are you okay?" He asked as he gave her a hug.

"Just a little scrape," she said with a smile.

"That's more than a scrape," Annie replied. She looked over her leg, and shook her head.

"So, you're coming back home?" He asked.

She smiled, and then said, "You two are off to college soon. My job is done."

"What does that mean?" Annie asked with a bit of anger in her voice.

"Thought maybe I'll see the world," she said, "But now I'll just go back home to Kansas."

Annie stormed out of the room, and Dixon sat in the chair by his mother's bed. "We want you with us, home."

"It's okay, son. You'll always be my kids," she said, "You can visit me anytime."

"Hold on a sec?" He asked as he walked down the hallway to find his sister crying in the waiting area.

"You ready?" She asked, "I wanna leave."

"You're not going to say goodbye?" He asked.

"Why should I?"

"'Cause she's our mom, Annie."

"Don't you feel abandoned?"

"A little, but I still got my sis, sis."

She smiled. "Until you decide to leave too."

"We'll always be family. Always."

She gave him a hug, and then they walked back to their mom's room, and said their goodbyes. He stood by his sister as she hugged her mom, and wished her well. The hurt of his Momma leaving was like a pole stabbing him in the heart-dull and painful. He knew what rejection felt like, but not Annie. This was her first time feeling the rejection of a parent, and it stung her badly. He knew it would take her awhile to get over the pain. He gently patted his sister on the back, and then said, "Well, Mom. It's time for us to go."

"Sorry you couldn't stay."

"Me too."

A feeling of relief overwhelmed his senses, but at the same time, he felt a bit of grief because she wouldn't be returning home. He thought back to the time when he was nine, and how she came running when he hit his knee against the curb. It was a little scrape, but he remembered how loud he screamed, and she assured him that the pain would go away, and it did. She was the patient mother, and had nothing but love for him, even when she first saw him. She didn't hesitate giving him the biggest hug a mother could give. The more he thought about living on his own he realized that her leaving was a good thing, and he loved his life, the life Debbie Wilson helped when she adopted him. Annie kept quiet all the way to the hotel room; and as soon as they walked through the front door, she hopped in the bed and went to sleep. It was a king-size bed, and he lay on the other side listening to his iPod, and thinking about life. He fell asleep with nothing but good thoughts on his mind.


End file.
